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Dear Helena,
I went into a cheese store and sampled 11 cheeses in hopes of finding something new I liked. I didn’t like any of them, so I didn’t buy anything. My wife was really embarrassed. She said if you ask for that many samples, you ought to make a purchase. I don’t see why, since the reason you sample something is because you don’t know whether you like it or not. Is it OK to eat a lot of samples without buying anything? If it’s not OK, how many samples can you have before it would be rude not to buy? And does it make a difference whether you’re in a cheese store, an ice cream parlor, or at the farmers’ market? —Can’t Decide
Dear Can’t Decide,
Store owners don’t mind how much you sample, provided you’re not just looking for a free lunch. James Coogan, manager of the Ideal Cheese Shop in New York, says: “If you’re actually looking for something, there is no limit to how many cheeses you can sample.” And no matter how much you eat, you don’t have to buy anything, whether you’re in a cheese store, an ice cream parlor, or at a farmer’s stall. As with any other purchasing decision, testing out the merchandise incurs no obligation. Glenn Herrell, owner of Say Cheese in Los Angeles, says: “It’s like the other day, I went into a shoe shop, tried on 10 different pairs of shoes, and didn’t buy anything. I felt bad, but nothing looked right.”
The number of samples you eat doesn’t really matter, but how you sample does. Gus Rancatore, owner of Toscanini’s, an ice cream shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says: “If I’m planning to sample, I wouldn’t go in when they’re incredibly busy and bring the business to a screeching halt.” And you shouldn’t be greedy if the samples are self-serve. June Taylor, a jam maker who offers samples at her stall at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, says: “Some people are very respectful: They just put a taste on the spoon. Others treat it like a shovel.”
So if you’re polite about it, extensive sampling is perfectly acceptable. But will it help you pick the best cheese? Barry Schwartz, a professor of social theory and social action at Swarthmore College and author of The Paradox of Choice, says that if you see something you already know you like, you’re better off buying that and pretending the other options don’t even exist. Too many choices can give you a bad case of buyer’s remorse: “If you’re faced with a choice of a hundred cheeses, even if you sample 10, you’ll be haunted by the 90 you didn’t taste, imagining how delicious they might have turned out to be.”
Another reason to stick to the same old thing is that we often enjoy novelty less than we expect. Schwartz cites an experiment in which two groups of students chose a snack to have in a seminar break for each of the next three weeks. The first group picked all three snacks in advance; the second group picked its snacks just before eating them. The first group opted for variety. The second group tended to choose the same snack every day, and the students were much happier with their choices. “Novelty is much less satisfying than we think it will be,” Schwartz concludes. But although sampling might not lead to the best decision, it makes the act of deciding much more fun. Especially when the person giving you samples doesn’t resent you.
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Excessive sampling is annoying to the proprietors, and embarassing for the spouses. If you can't decide which cheese to buy after tasting 2-3, then you're better off letting someone else choose for you. My bigger objection is to the people (some noted above) who visit places like Central Market on a weekend, and gorge on the open sample bins. The abusers are not usually the serious shoppers...+READ
Excessive sampling is annoying to the proprietors, and embarassing for the spouses. If you can't decide which cheese to buy after tasting 2-3, then you're better off letting someone else choose for you. My bigger objection is to the people (some noted above) who visit places like Central Market on a weekend, and gorge on the open sample bins. The abusers are not usually the serious shoppers either -- its the spouse who tagged along for the trip and little kids who have nothing better to do and no business being there. I've actually found myself telling more than one roving pack of prepubescent "noshers" that its a supermarket, not a buffet. They stand there stuffing their faces with bread and snack samples, keeping those of us who are legitimately there to BUY things from tasting something we're interested in. Sampling in a supermarket is a classic ploy to keep us shopping -- the more we eat, the more we buy. And if the kids like what they're eating, they will whine until mummy buys it for them.-COLLAPSE
i think everybody's to some extent guilty of occasionally going into a big grocery and "sampling" an offered item with no intention of buying it, ever, or of "sampling" something they already have tried and like-- and intend to sample each time it's put out-- (i'm thinking WF guac, in my case, here). other times you really do want to sample a cheese, olive, dip, or sweetmeat to help make a...+READ
i think everybody's to some extent guilty of occasionally going into a big grocery and "sampling" an offered item with no intention of buying it, ever, or of "sampling" something they already have tried and like-- and intend to sample each time it's put out-- (i'm thinking WF guac, in my case, here). other times you really do want to sample a cheese, olive, dip, or sweetmeat to help make a selection or match a theme for a dinner, etc. and the small sample is part of decision making. the cruddy thing is if it's offered as a free sample, people will try it, even people who'd never normally try it-- peanut butter lady, and while big supermarkets tend to make money on items they sample, the same can't be said for smaller stores, who can lose big bucks on free samples given to non-customers such as Can't Decide--10 cheese samples is easily 2 oz of cheese-- or a dollar's worth of fine cheese at $7.99/lb, for no purchase. Can't Decide should realize that his sample abuse is raising the price of cheese for other patrons due to the shop's loss on samples.
on another level this article bugs me because it doesn't draw any distinction between the big retail markets and the small independent cheese shops or the vendor at the farmer's market. small vendors certainly take it in the pants when people abuse their samples with no intention of ever buying anything. i don't think it's right when customers approach a farmer's market vendor and demand an unoffered sample of a product-- don't they realize that packaging will have to be opened and a marketable item for a small producer will be wasted, not to mention all the time and effort? too many people are used to the free sample buffet at the supermarket and think they can sample to their gullet's content, no matter where they go, and that nobody loses in the situation.-COLLAPSE
I love sampling cheeses in hopes of finding a new favorite but im pretty good about it. I never leave without buying my staples: a half pound of my favorite Roquefort and brie along with some goat and parmesan. mmm...
I never fail to be shocked by the entitlement some people clearly feel; I gladly accept invitations to sample, though I rarely ask, and if I do, it's only 1 or 2. Regardless, and somewhat off-topic, the comments of the author of The Paradox of Choice seem to me not only anti-Chowish but absurd. If we never tried anything new we'd still be drinking breast milk and eating applesauce. Choice *can...+READ
I never fail to be shocked by the entitlement some people clearly feel; I gladly accept invitations to sample, though I rarely ask, and if I do, it's only 1 or 2. Regardless, and somewhat off-topic, the comments of the author of The Paradox of Choice seem to me not only anti-Chowish but absurd. If we never tried anything new we'd still be drinking breast milk and eating applesauce. Choice *can be* overwhelming, but it's not *by definition* overwhelming and purpose-defeating, as he seems to suggest. Experimentation and discovery is what Chowhound's all about.-COLLAPSE
One more thing... Can't Decide, if you really can't see why you should buy something, you may just have to defer such judgments to your wife, who clearly has a better grasp on the business/social dynamics in the scenario you described (and probably most others). Seriously. There's nothing wrong with relying on your trusted spouse to help you negotiate things you're not good at. I'm sure there are...+READ
One more thing... Can't Decide, if you really can't see why you should buy something, you may just have to defer such judgments to your wife, who clearly has a better grasp on the business/social dynamics in the scenario you described (and probably most others). Seriously. There's nothing wrong with relying on your trusted spouse to help you negotiate things you're not good at. I'm sure there are things you can help her with.-COLLAPSE
Right on. If you have over-sampled in the hopes of a new thrill that you didn't reach, fine, but have the decency to BUY A TRUSTED STAND-BY then.
Like Can't Decide's wife, I would be embarassed, too, but frankly my DH and I have worked all our adult lives in sales and he would ***never*** behave that way. We have too much respect for people trying to earn a living. You could always buy a...+READ
Right on. If you have over-sampled in the hopes of a new thrill that you didn't reach, fine, but have the decency to BUY A TRUSTED STAND-BY then.
Like Can't Decide's wife, I would be embarassed, too, but frankly my DH and I have worked all our adult lives in sales and he would ***never*** behave that way. We have too much respect for people trying to earn a living. You could always buy a quarter pound of camenbert to give the hosts for that party you're attending, or the people down the street with the new baby or knee surgery.-COLLAPSE
Dear Can't decide,
I am not convinced your question is genuine. If you thought what you did was right you wouldn't be asking the question.
Go back to the shop and buy a big piece of your favorite cheese...and no new samples. That will make everybody happy No?
Sampling does open opportunities for an adventure. As for me, I often take back home things that haven't been planned but have proved more satisfying. You cannot, for this reason, judge and limit samplings on the initial 'intention' of purchase.
However, when it becomes a burden to the shopowners, owners should think up a wise way of limiting samplings unnoticeably. For example, an ice-cream...+READ
Sampling does open opportunities for an adventure. As for me, I often take back home things that haven't been planned but have proved more satisfying. You cannot, for this reason, judge and limit samplings on the initial 'intention' of purchase.
However, when it becomes a burden to the shopowners, owners should think up a wise way of limiting samplings unnoticeably. For example, an ice-cream parlour in our town only allows samplings for 'new' flavours. Another way is actually designating a 'sampling' spoon that can be used only once by the customer him/herself. A plastic teaspoon will do.-COLLAPSE
I think three or four is enough unless it's an extremely slow day there's nobody in the store and the proprietor encourages you to keep sampling. Otherwise, if the shop is crowded and/or there's a line behind you waiting their turn as in an ice cream parlor, keep a lid on it.
I work at Bristol Farms and seeing the herds of people mowing down the samples on the weekend is disconcerting to say the least. These people aren't sampling in anticipation of purchasing, they're looking for a free meal. Sometimes I think the woman who runs the demos would lose her mind if she didn't have a better sense of humor about these things.
Eleven samples of anything is a bit absurd. That's not sampling, that's a meal.
Customers and businesses should follow common sense guidelines when it comes to sampling.
For customers: If there is even one person behind you, do not hog the attention of the staff by requesting samples. If you cannot make up your mind, step aside, wait for the other customer to finish and then you may ask for another sample. If you honestly cannot make up your mind after a few samples, if you...+READ
Customers and businesses should follow common sense guidelines when it comes to sampling.
For customers: If there is even one person behind you, do not hog the attention of the staff by requesting samples. If you cannot make up your mind, step aside, wait for the other customer to finish and then you may ask for another sample. If you honestly cannot make up your mind after a few samples, if you INTEND to purchase an item, you may ask for another sample. If you are UNSURE if you intend to purchase an item, to continue asking for samples at this point is rude and you should stop for the moment. You know you can always come back and because you were respectful about not over-sampling, you will be welcome back.
For Businesses: You will give all customers the benefit of the doubt- do not assume that because they are indecisive that they will not buy something now or in the future. You will not be rude to a customer who asks for more than one sample. However, you also have an obligation to your other customers- if one person is hogging your attention by asking for samples, nicely ask that person to step aside while you attend to your other customers who intend to buy first. If you see sampling is having a negative effect on your business it is your right to post a sign stating the number of samples any customer is allowed- but if you do this be prepared to nicely explain as many items as a customer wishes you to explain in detail:}-COLLAPSE
With you there. With sampling, the customer should at least give you an inkling what direction they're wanting to take.
In an ice cream parlour, it's very frustrating to have people who already know what they want waiting for this one person who keeps sampling and sampling and sampling and sampling. . .
And a case of not knowing their own mind: would you believe one customer asked for a...+READ
With you there. With sampling, the customer should at least give you an inkling what direction they're wanting to take.
In an ice cream parlour, it's very frustrating to have people who already know what they want waiting for this one person who keeps sampling and sampling and sampling and sampling. . .
And a case of not knowing their own mind: would you believe one customer asked for a sample of the flavour peanut butter chocolate and then proceeded to exclaim on the floor, "Yuck! I hate this!"? Turned out she doesn't EVEN LIKE peanut butter.
At least the ice cream business is not as labour-intensive as the cheese business.
Sometimes I wonder if some people understand that the cheese shop/ice cream parlour/etc is a business and there are costs associated with everything -- yes, even the sampling.-COLLAPSE
One more quick thought I had:
Like the waitperson that remembers the bad tippers and the good tippers, we remember the over-samplers who like nothing (and buy nothing), just as much as we remember the adventurous tasters that do buy and support the biz.
I'm torn on this one. I owned a cheese shop, and the rampant samplers that never purchased do become a problem: "what's that? Is it good? what about that one? can I try the first one again, no wait, the other one". This is very time consuming, and also expensive for the shop owner in time, wrap, washing utensils, loss of other customers, and yes, product.
Sampling can be directed more...+READ
I'm torn on this one. I owned a cheese shop, and the rampant samplers that never purchased do become a problem: "what's that? Is it good? what about that one? can I try the first one again, no wait, the other one". This is very time consuming, and also expensive for the shop owner in time, wrap, washing utensils, loss of other customers, and yes, product.
Sampling can be directed more efficiently by asking a few question of the sampler- if they don't like blues, goats, etc, don't go there. It's very helpful when customers at least give some idea of where their palate is that day- sharp, salty, hard, soft, tangy, etc., so as not to waste time on things that are unlikely to appeal.
I believe that sampling is a means to assist customers in making an educated purchase, not just to provide them with a nice free snack. Many's the time I've heard, after much sampling: "I'm stuffed now, I can't possible decide".
Um, thanks. Now let me wrap these cheeses, clean the counters, wash the planes and try and keep 4 more real customers from walking out the door because of the extended and fruitless wait. It's hard not to resent the sample-sample-samplers, when sampling doesn't lead to a decision.
The shoes analogy is faulty- the shoes remain unchanged by trying them on- the same cannot be said for sampling.-COLLAPSE